Lee Rosenbaum's cultural commentary

After a prolonged debate, ending in the wee hour of 12:03 a.m. Helsinki time, its City Council voted 53 to 32 to reject the Guggenheim's proposed Scandinavian outpost. Applause and cheers ensued. The meeting had been preceded by a demonstration in Senate Square by "a few dozen anti-Guggenheim protesters," according to a YLE News report. "Many argued that investments … [Read more...] about Guggenheim Helsinki Sinks in a 53-32 Council Vote (with video) UPDATED TWICE

Back in April, the Metropolitan Museum's president, Daniel Weiss, declined to disclose to me the cost of renovating the Whitney Museum's Breuer building, now repurposed (at least temporarily) as the Met Breuer. Thanks to the Met's annual report for fiscal 2016 (now online), the truth can now be told: Some $10.43 million was spent in FY16 and $2.52 million in FY15 for the … [Read more...] about The Cost of the Met Breuer (and other nuggets from Metropolitan Museum’s FY16 financials)

I've been off-blog too long---a combination of mainstream-media commitments and technological trauma (new computer). Let me start playing catch-up by addressing the latest arts/politics flashpoint: the "Hamilton" show vs. the Trump Show. I'll begin by coming out of my political closet: I disagree with almost everything the President-elect said to get himself elected, which … [Read more...] about Slam from “Ham”: Unpacking the (Lin-Manuel) Miranda Warning for Mike Pence (& for Trump)

Will the Guggenheim Helsinki, proposed in 2011 and stalled ever since, finally get off the drawing board? On Monday, the Helsinki City Board voted 8-7 to revive this persistent project, which will be up for approval by the full 85-member City Council on Nov. 30. In May 2012, the City Board had voted 8-7 to stop it. The project was recently dealt another serious blow … [Read more...] about Snowball’s Chance in Helsinki: Guggenheim Again Seeks Council Approval (plus Abu Dhabi update)

Sotheby's officials usually try to find something to crow about in their quarterly conference calls with analysts. But it's hard to sound bullish in the face of a third-quarter net loss of $54.5 million, as compared to a $17.9-million loss for the same period a year ago. The third quarter, when relatively few auctions are scheduled, is traditionally weak for the auction … [Read more...] about Sotheby’s Puts a Good Face on an Ugly Loss During (Non-)Earnings Conference Call

By some strange curatorial telepathy, the Metropolitan Museum's justly acclaimed Valentin de Boulogne: Beyond Caravaggio (to Jan. 16) bears a title closely resembling that of a major show at another world-class museum: Less than a week after the Met's show opened, the National Gallery, London, unveiled Beyond Caravaggio, which, from its description, covers similar ground to the … [Read more...] about “I’m Still Here” (despite buyouts): My Q&A with Keith Christiansen at the Met’s “Valentin de Boulogne”

It's no wonder that Chicago artist Kerry James Marshall, a youthful 61, murmured, "Showtime," as he strode through the Met Breuer's press scrum yesterday, turned to the crowd that filled the lobby, and raised his arms triumphantly before making introductory remarks at his highly anticipated retrospective: There had been so much fervid media acclaim, in advance of the … [Read more...] about “Showtime” at the Met for Kerry James Marshall: All that Glitters…?

Although my Wall Street Journal piece, A Capital Overhaul at the National Gallery, on the reinvented and revitalized permanent collection displays, was generously granted three images by my editors, I think readers often crave a chance to see the other works discussed. You wish, artlings, is CultureGrrl's demand. Below are most of the works whose images didn't make it into the … [Read more...] about Reshuffling the Deck: An Illustrated Companion to My WSJ Piece on National Gallery Reinstallations

If you've been wondering why I've been AWOL from the blog, here's the answer: A Capital Overhaul at the National Gallery, my review in tomorrow's Wall Street Journal (online now). The reinstallations of the permanent collection---comprehensive in the renovated, expanded East Building (modern and contemporary art), far-reaching in the West Building (historic … [Read more...] about “Capital Overhaul”: My WSJ Review of National Gallery’s Reinvented East & Strengthened West

The mesmerizing Agnes Martin survey, organized by the Tate Modern and now gracing the Guggenheim Museum's rotunda (to Jan. 11), enraptured me from the start: In the pocket gallery just off the first ramp is a perfectly lit, glowing array of "The Islands," 1979, a series of 12 panels owned by the Whitney Museum that can make you feel mesmerized and even a little woozy, if you … [Read more...] about Ethereal & Otherworldly: Transported by Agnes Martin at the Guggenheim

Now she's a board chair, not president. But whatever names you call her, it appears that Diane ("Dede") Wilsey has out-maneuvered the proponents of regime change at the Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco. The smartest move in this continuing chess game comes from Max Hollein, FAMSF's new director, who (in conformance with professional guidelines [p. 5] for art museum … [Read more...] about Wilsey or Won’t She? FAMSF’s Board Head Defies Regime Change (plus: Albright-Knox name change)

While I've been distracted from blogging by mainstream-media assignments (one completed, the other in process), I've been itching to weigh in on several important museum developments. Let's start with Metropolitan Museum President Daniel Weiss' tough-love strategies to address the shocking financial crisis that he inherited. Museum digerati may disagree, but I welcome the … [Read more...] about Tech Crash at Metropolitan Museum: “Digital Underground” Buried? UPDATED

There's a difference between displaying political art and politicizing art. As I argue in A Polemical History Lesson, my piece in today's Wall Street Journal, the Brooklyn Museum's rehang and reinterpretation of its American art collection crosses that line, fixating on everything that's shameful or elitist about our country's past. Other critics have praised the new … [Read more...] about “Polemical History Lesson”: Illustrated Companion to my WSJ Piece on the Brooklyn Museum’s American Rehang

While there's been widespread critical acclaim for David Adjaye's $540-million (including installation of displays) National Museum of African American History and Culture in Washington (opening Saturday), few New Yorkers have heard of, let alone visited, his $84.7-million, 13-story Sugar Hill Project, commissioned by Broadway Housing Communities in Harlem: Photos by Lee … [Read more...] about Adulated Adjaye: Acclaimed in DC, Under-the-Radar in NYC (with video) UPDATED

Given her centenarian status, I was astonished by the Whitney Museum's decision to schedule its Carmen Herrera show to open more than a year after the Whitney had unveiled its new facility. I felt the show should have been fast-tracked at all costs, to increase the odds that this doggedly persistent, under-recognized artist would live to see it. Happily, Carmen Herrera: Lines … [Read more...] about Carmen Herrera, 101-Year-Old Overnight Success, Gets Her Whitney Close-Up (with video)